Ikuo Kuroiwa is Professor at Faculty of International Economic Studies, University of Niigata Prefecture (UNP), specialized in regional economics and East Asian economies with particular emphasis on economic integration and the formation of production networks in this region. Before he joined UNP, he had been working for Institute of Developing Economies (IDE-JETRO) for more than 30 years. While he was a researcher at IDE-JETRO, he was posted to the US, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand to conduct research on East Asian economies. In recent years, however, he has expanded his scope of analysis and conducted research on GVCs in Africa and other developing regions.During his long carrier as a researcher, he has edited several books on production networks and industrial clusters in East Asia, which include The Location of Industries in Newly Integrated East Asian Economies: New Economic Geography Perspective, New York: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2011; and Production Networks and Industrial Clusters: Integrating Economies in East Asia, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), 2008. He is also the author of refereed papers, such as “Agglomeration economies in Vietnam.” Journal of Asian Economics, 62, June 2019; and ”Value Content and Production Networks in Southeast Asia: Application of AFTA and ASEAN Plus One FTA Formulas.” The Developing Economies, 47(2), 2009. So UMEZAKI is Director of Economic Integration Studies Group, Development Studies Center in the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO), specialized in economic integration in ASEAN with particular emphasis on the role of connectivity through land, maritime, and air transportation. He joined IDE in 1995, after receiving his Master's degree from the Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies (GSICS), Kobe University in Japan.During his temporary assignment to the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) in Jakarta, Indonesia between 2008 and 2011, he contributed several flagship projects related to the economic integration in ASEAN and neighboring countries such as the Comprehensive Asia Development Plan (CADP), ASEAN-India Connectivity, the ASEAN Strategic Transport Plan (ASTP), and the Masterplan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC). He has published articles on Southeast Asian economies in refereed journals for example “The Malaysian Economy after the Global Financial Crisis: International Capital Flows, Exchange Rates, and Policy Responses”, Public Policy Review, 15(1), pp.69-98, July 2019; “Five Growth Strategies for Myanmar: Re-engagement with the Global Economy”(co-authored with T. Kudo and S. Kumagai), Journal of Southeast Asian Economies, 31(2), pp.173-194, August 2014; and “Monetary Policy in a Small Open Economy: The Case of Malaysia”, The Developing Economies, 45(4),pp.437-464, December 2007.